Indonesian School Has Second Thoughts on Expelling Rape Victim

Posted on Oct 11, 2012

A private school in Depok City, Indonesia, reportedly has reversed a decision to expel a 14-year-old girl the school said had “tarnished the institution’s image” by being kidnapped and raped by members of a human trafficking syndicate.

The girl, identified only by the acronym SAS, was said to have been seduced online, held captive for a week and gang-raped while under the influence of alcohol.

A teacher reportedly told the girl after the incident that she had “tarnished the school’s image.” SAS was allowed to return to school after a meeting between the administration and her family.

“The school has worsened her trauma by humiliating her in front of hundreds of schoolmates,” said Arist Merdeka Sirait, chairman of Indonesia’s National Commission for Child Protection, according to AFP. “The girl was the victim of child trafficking. The school should have helped her to cope with her trauma.”

SAS’ lawyer Dwi Handy Pardede believes the teen would have been brought to and sold on the Indonesian island of Batam—a notorious human trafficking zone—but was ultimately let go by Sugiarto after “media blew up the incident.”

Reports say SAS was expelled by her school on Monday for “sullying” the institution’s reputation, and her expulsion was allegedly announced to the entire school population during a morning assembly.

She was in “shock” and returned home in tears, her parents told Detik News.